PARIS — These Games are not Dhinidhi Desinghu's first major competition. She competed in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou and won seven gold medals at the 2023 Indian National Games, setting a personal best in the 100m freestyle. Earlier this year, she competed in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Doha in the 200m freestyle and the mixed medley relay.

In late June, the India's national swimming federation announced that Desinghu and 23-year-old Srihari Nataraj were selected to represent India at the Paris Olympics, each receiving the Universality selection. On the second day of the Olympics, they both competed in their respective events. Nataraj raced in the men’s 100m backstroke, finishing with a time of 55.01, tied for 33rd place among 46 competitors in his second Olympic appearance.

Desinghu swam the women’s 200m freestyle, finishing the first heat with a time of 2:06.96. She placed 23rd overall among 31 competitors.

“It was not a personal best time, but for a morning swim I think it went really well,” Desinghu said. “One of the best times I've swum. Not that it was my best time, but still, I'm pretty happy with how I swam. I tried to follow exactly how my coach told me to swim the race. So I'm really happy with how it went.”

“Just getting a chance to be here with all these athletes is such an amazing opportunity,” she added. “I'm just really happy that I got a chance to swim in such an amazing venue at the Olympics. So, despite the time, it was good.”

Desinghu trains at the Padukone Center in Bangalore under Coach Nihar Amin and assistant coach BM Madhunkumar, who first saw her potential and helped her reach new heights.

“Getting the chance to be with such an amazing coach is just an honor and a great feeling,” Desinghu said of Amin, head coach of Dolphin Aquatics. Her training center features a relatively new Myrtha pool, one of the few in the country, installed less than two years ago.

Despite her young age, Desinghu is well-traveled. “I think I'm really grateful that I am a swimmer in the first place. I believe that swimming has given me a great chance to travel to so many different places,” she said.

She listed her travels this year: “Early in the year we went to Doha for the World Championships. In February, I went to the Philippines for the Asian Age Group Championship. In March, I competed at the Singapore National Age Group Championships. In April, I went to Malaysia for an age group championship, and in May, we raced on the Mare Nostrum Tour. In June, I completed the Mare Nostrum events and went to Singapore again for the Singapore Open Championships.”

“Since Indian swimmers haven't qualified yet for the 'A' or 'B' standard, our universality selection was based on each of us trying to get the most AQUA points possible. So, that's why I was competing so often,” she explained.

The Indian delegation arrived in Paris on the day the Olympic Village opened. Desinghu embraced the experience of her first Olympics. “Getting a chance to be in such an amazing facility with amazing coaches and teammates itself, I think, really pushed me and motivated me to come here in the first place at just 14 years old.”

“I grew up in Bangalore. I'm the only girl child. Sometimes I wish I had a sibling because at times it does get lonely, especially as a swimmer, where you generally are in your own lane and in your own pool. But I have cousins and many other family members.”

“My mom and dad are here in Paris. They were not planning to come because they have work and are really busy. But I'm their only child, and getting the chance to be here at just 14 is a great honor. So, they wanted to watch me swim, and I could actually spot them in the crowd before and after my race.”

About the Paris La Defense Arena, she said: “It's an amazing venue for swimming. I felt like it was a really, really fast pool. I felt really good inside the pool. It's a huge crowd. I've definitely not swum before such a huge crowd. But this is a completely different vibe and aura compared to any other international competition I've been to.”

“It's an amazing opportunity to swim here because there are a lot of world-class athletes and world record holders who have swum in probably the same lane in the same pool. It’s a very surreal feeling.”

Image Source: Dhinidhi Desinghu's hero Katie Ledecky competes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Al Bello/Getty Images)

Asked which swimmers she admires, she replied, “I think almost everybody here has their own talents and special skills that I look up to. Katie Ledecky is someone I looked up to a lot. She kind of made me continue the sport. There were times where I didn't want to come to the pool, but thinking of her, I thought, okay, she did this for so long, she would have had her ups and downs and still continued and is one of the greatest female athletes in the world. So, she was somebody that kept me in the sport, kept me motivated, and is also a very big reason why I am here today. She always motivated me to continue and do greater things in the future. So, if I get a chance to meet Katie, that would be the best thing.”

“There are a lot of American and European swimmers I really look up to. I am meeting a lot of them for the first time. When I raced in the Mare Nostrum Swim Tour, I got to see them swim and how they prepare themselves, which is an inspiration to me. Just getting a chance to see them in person is an amazing feeling. And one day, I hope that I could be just like them, hopefully better one day, but I know that there is a long way to go.”

“It will be my major goal to compete in Los Angeles at the 2028 Olympics. I'm going to keep pushing, I'm going to keep putting in the work, and hopefully I can go there. Perhaps I can advance to the semifinals or make the finals one day. That itself would be an amazing feat and an amazing climb to reach.”

Outside of swimming, Desinghu is a 9th-grade student. “Education is really important. I don't really love studying. It's hard, especially after swimming. You're tired and just want to be in bed. But you have to put in that little bit of effort into your education as well. Nowadays, I'm starting to enjoy it a little bit. I'm trying to accept the fact that we don't have a choice. We have to study. So, I'm trying to enjoy it. I have amazing classmates and teachers who help make studying not all that daunting. It used to be really hard for me as a kid to study, but since I have good people around me, it's not all that difficult to continue.”

“I don't really get time to do a lot of other stuff because of swimming and my education,” she said. “I'm generally into art. It takes me out of the swimming world and puts me in a different dimension. I make a lot of greeting cards which I give people for their birthdays, Christmas, or any festivals we celebrate. I believe people enjoy getting my cards even though they may not admit it. To me, giving gifts is a way of showing appreciation or love to someone who has probably made a huge impact on my life.”

Desinghu raced in her only event at the Paris Olympic Games on July 28. “Now that I'm here, I just feel that all the hard work has really paid off. After this, I'm going to go back, train, and get fully back into the grind once I return to India. I have another race, India's Junior National Meet, an all-age group competition. It's a tight schedule, but I think we're just going to make it work. This is the age where I get the chance to do a lot of age group and senior competitions traveling around the world.”

“I have a few days to have fun and rest. I will be leaving Paris on July 31, but maybe I will get a chance to go sightseeing with my parents. The last time I was here in Paris, I was only five. I was thinking that maybe we could see the Eiffel Tower and other places, and try some different food. I'm just really excited to explore Paris. I'm trying to have fun, meet a lot of people, and probably get some autographs from other Olympians.”

“Hopefully in the future, I'll reach a point in my career where younger kids from the next generation will come up to me and ask for my autograph. I'm reminded of a quote I once heard: ‘You have to climb up a mountain so that your signature one day becomes an autograph.’ I always think of that whenever I think of the race, and maybe one day my signature might become an autograph for someone else.”